


Hey, Little Songbird

by charlietheepic7



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Bashing, F/M, Falling In Love, Felix is a Manipulative Ass, Lila Rossi Bashing, Lila Rossi Lies, Manipulation, Minor Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:21:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 12,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21572146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charlietheepic7/pseuds/charlietheepic7
Summary: Really, Felix couldn't believe his cousin sometimes. Marinette was talented, beautiful, kind, and had a crush on Adrien bigger than the mansion, yet Adrien was blind to the treasure right in front of him. "Just a friend," indeed.Well, if Adrien wasn't going to do anything, it wouldn't matter if Felix... snatched her up?
Relationships: Marinette Dupain Cheng/Felix (Miraculous Ladybug), Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Felix Graham de Vanily
Comments: 442
Kudos: 4014





	1. Chapter 1

His cousin’s class naturally hated Felix. No doubt Adrien and those he got akumatized had warned the other’s, preemptively isolating him. He could see the hatred in their eyes as Mme. Bustier introduced him, as she instructed him to sit in the back next to the black-haired girl who was in love with Adrien. 

Felix nimbly dodged a kick from Lady Wifi, glowering back in response to her glare and smirking when she flinched in return. Amateur. As if she could intimidate him. He’d stared down the most intimidating members of the fashion and movie industry: famous photographers, directors who thought they could tell him how act, Audrey Bourgeois, his uncle. No mere school girl would get under his skin. 

He sat next to the black-haired girl, overtly aware of her presence next to him as the rest of the class turned back to an Italian girl in the front. His position in the room was dangerous. Next to someone who’d feel righteous in getting back at him for Adrien, alone in the back where the teacher couldn’t see. If he was a lesser man, sweat would dot his brow. Instead, he glanced at her. She was facing him. So it was the direct approach then? She didn’t seem like the type--

“My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I’m the class president, so feel free to ask if you need something,” she said with a small smile and a head tilt. 

Felix blinked in surprise. She was... she was just a better actress than he initially assessed, he told himself. It was merely a faced to catch him off guard. 

Felix sneered. “I’m sure, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng. Please spare me the facade. I’m already more than aware of you and your classmates hatred towards me.”

She looked hurt. “I don’t hate you.”

“And Adrien’s not my cousin,” he scoffed. 

“I’m _not lying_ ,” she said lowly, her frame trembling and fists clenched. Felix watched warily as she calmed herself down, breathing deeply. “Sorry; I shouldn’t have gotten mad. I don’t hate you, M. Graham de Vanily. I’m angry at you, yes, but... I want to give you a chance. I don’t know the circumstances that led to your... behavior two weeks ago, but regardless... I’m willing to be your friend.” She looked away, her cheeks ruddy. “If you want.”

His eyes narrowed. He didn’t believe her. “Do you always forgive so easily?” 

“I try to.” 

“That’s a good way to get stabbed in the back.”

She smiled, close-lipped and bitter. “I’m used to the feeling. What’s one more stab wound?”

He hadn’t expected that. How does one respond to that? Fortunately, he didn’t have to as Mme. Bustier called the class to attention to start the day. 


	2. Chapter 2

The classes were simple compared to Felix’s school in London. It was boring, but it did give him ample time to study the class. There was something wrong going on. From the way Mlle. Dupain-Cheng acted, betrayals seemed common. Or were they just common for her?

It seemed to be the case; since they sat in the back, they should have been safe from scrutiny, yet students went out of their way to turn around in their seats to glare at them. Or rather, at Dupain-Cheng. How... confusing. Felix didn’t like being confused. 

Was it possible that Dupain-Cheng had done something. It seemed so, but Felix was hesitant to place the blame on her shoulders. There was still a very real possibility that she was a gold-digger or a betrayer, but they were treating her like she was... him. How novel. 

But that wasn’t the only thing wrong with the class. At the left-front, a girl had been talking through most of the classes without being reprimanded once by Mme. Bustier. Adrien, to his minimal credit, was trying to ignore her, but the two people behind her--a boy with glasses and Lady Wifi--were listening with rapt attention. Their other classmates shot the two envious looks. Why though? Did they want to be distracted all throughout the lesson? 

The bell for lunch rang and several students bolted out the door. Dupain-Cheng sighed and started packing up her things. Felix, who hadn’t taken this things out to begin with, simply got up and tried to leave. Keyword being “tried” since as he walked down the stairs, Lady Wifi stopped him. 

“How could you do that to Lila this morning!?” She snarled, outrage twisting her face. 

“...Who?” 

“Who--” She chocked, clearly taken aback. She waved at the Italian girl who’d been talking all class, who now was bawling into her arm. “Lila! The girl who tried to guide you to class this morning. The one you pushed away and yelled at! Are you such a monster that you didn’t even bother to know who she was before lashing out!?”

He looked at her again. Funny, you’d think he’d remember doing that. “I was in the principal’s office all morning, getting my paperwork done.” The girl, Lila apparently, stiffened. “He can verify that. I’ve never met this girl before in my life, Lady Wifi.”

Lady Wifi flinched back. “That’s not-- Don’t call me that!”

The boy who’d been next to her joined in. “She has a name, you jerk!”

“I’d learn it if I cared.” Felix brushed passed them and stopped next to Lila. “Next time you lie about your betters, at least make it believable. And stop your sniveling; anyone with ears can tell it isn’t real.”

Felix left the class to their uproar. He started heading towards the front exit. Obviously he wasn’t going to eat the cafeteria food here, but he didn’t know the area well. Hopefully there would be a coffee shop nearby... 

“Felix!” Adrien latched onto his arm and he rolled his eyes. Of course. “Felix we need to talk.”

“Of course,” he mocked. “When will we make the appointment then?”

Satisfaction filled him as he saw rage cross Adrien’s face. It was gone too soon. “Come on.” Without waiting for a response, Adrien pulled him into the empty bathroom nearby. He stood in between Felix and the door. “What are you doing here?”

“Mother thought it would do me well to spend some more time in Paris while she dealt with the company.” In truth, she was hoping he could get access to the other of the Graham de Vanily rings. Mother thought that Gabriel may have started wearing it himself or that he gave it to Adrien.

Felix was a little surprised that Gabriel hadn’t reported him for the theft, though it did make sense. Aunt Emilie had stolen the rings from the family, after all. It was only Mother’s good will that she was not reported, though the rings were listed as stolen.

Adrien narrowed his eyes. “I don’t believe you.”

“I don’t care. Are we done now? I have no desire to spent my lunch in a bathroom.”

“No. Stay away from Marinette.” His eyebrows shot up. “I know she’s your seat mate, but leave her alone. She doesn’t need you on her case too.”

“‘On her case...?’ Dear cousin, it’s like you mistake me for some sort of scoundrel. But don’t worry, I don’t plan to do anything to your little girlfriend.”

“What?” Adrien looked shocked. “Marinette’s not my girlfriend. We’re just friends.”

...So his cousin was an idiot. Or blind and deaf, those were possibilities. Seriously, the girl confessed her love to him in the bluntest way possible. Felix didn’t even delete the videos off his phone! Did Adrien really think that friends just confessed their love to each other? ~~That spoiled little...~~

Felix smiled, close-mouthed. “Well, then there’s not a problem then. You can be friends, while I can... well, we’ll see. Have a good lunch, Adrien. Try not to eat so much.”

He left Adrien behind and headed outside. Honestly, did Adrien consider himself Dupain-Cheng’s keeper? A knight in shining armor that had to protect the princess from the villain? Felix wanted to be offended on her behalf, but it’s not like he knew her. Maybe she’d be flattered? 

Outside was much worse than when he left it. It had been overcast when he entered the school, but in the time in between then and now rain had started coming down. There, under the overhang, was Dupain-Cheng, rooting around in her backpack. 

Felix sighed and opened his backpack as well. There had to be something wrong with him as he took out both his main and spare umbrella. He held the spare out to Dupain-Cheng, startling her. “Here,” he offered. “I usually carry an extra.” One normally broke, but she didn’t need to know that.

She took it gingerly. “Oh... Thank you.”

“You can thank me by showing me a decent place to eat nearby,” he said, not looking at her. “I have no idea what’s good around here and I’m certainly not going to suffer through the indignity of eating _cafeteria food_.” 

She giggled at his disgust. “The food here isn’t that bad.”

“Ah, but that doesn’t mean it’s good either.” He opened his umbrella and stepped out into the rain. “So? Do we have a deal?”

She nodded and opened her umbrella as well, the black material shielding her from the sky above. “We do. Don’t worry, I know the perfect place.”

“I look forward to it,” Felix said, smirking at Adrien who’d been watching them from the other side of the doors. This was going to be fun.


	3. Chapter 3

The place Dupain-Cheng took him to was a small bakery not far from the school. Stepping inside, the smell of fresh baked bread assaulted his nose. In the display case, dozens of macaroons in all colors lined parchment paper next to croissants and cream-stuffed pastries. Felix expected Dupain-Cheng to get in line to order; instead, the girl skipped the line, approaching the woman at the register directly. "Hi, Maman," Dupain-Cheng greeted. 

Felix wanted to scoff as he watched mother and daughter hug. Of course, she'd take him to her family bakery! She wouldn't be able to afford any of the places his pallet was used to. But... despite his first instinct, the establishment did have a rather... warm feel to it, further embellished y the downpour outside. And the food did look impeccable. Not his usual fare, certainly, but one day off his diet wouldn't hurt him. 

"Welcome home, Marinette," her mother greeted. Her eyes met his and furrowed with confusion before her expression smoothed out. "Who's your friend? He's never dropped by before." 

So she could tell him and Adrien apart. Good. 

"Ah! Maman, this is -" 

"Felix Graham de Vanily," Felix cut in smoothly, smiling charmingly. "I'm new in class and your daughter has been kind enough to help me gain my barrings at Fransis-Depoint. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mme. Cheng." He bowed at the waist, eyes lowered. He wanted to make a good impression - 

"It's nice to to meet you too, Felix," Mme. Cheng nodded, seemingly amused. "Why don't you two grab something from the back and eat upstairs." She glanced at the line, which had only grown in number since they arrived. "It seems like it's about to get full down here."

"Thanks, Maman." Dupain-Cheng pressed a kiss to her mother's cheek. "Come on, back here."

Felix followed her behind the counter and into the kitchen beyond where an extremely large man, presumably her father, was icing a particularly tall wedding cake. "Hey, Dad! Felix and I are just grabbing some food before going upstairs."

The father smiled, surprisingly calm about his daughter arriving with a strange boy in his shop. "Go right ahead! There's some fresh chicken salad and cold cuts in the fridge if either of you want them."

They each loaded up their plates, but when Dupain-Cheng started to ascend the stairs, Felix hesitated. He looked back at M. Dupain. "Sir... Forgive me, but how do I pay for this?" Father and daughter exchanged a shocked glance. "I didn't get a chance to properly observe the menu, so otherwise I'd-"

"Don't worry about it!" M. Dupain laughed. "No friend of Marinette has to pay! Consider it the 'friends and family' discount." 

Felix frowned. He didn't really consider them friends yet; acquaintances, yes, but not friends. Though, if the quality of his classmates refused to improve, she might end up being the only person he could stand talking to on a regular basis. "Sir, I must insist-"

"They're not going to let you pay, trust me," Dupain-Cheng said. "You're not the first person to try, nor are you going to be the last. Just come on." She went upstairs and Felix reluctantly followed. He wasn't used to other people doing favors for him. Usually people _wanted_ favors, thinking he'd be naive enough to allow them to ride off the Graham de Vanily family coat tails. Felix never allowed that mentality to stick around him long; no one had ever been stupid enough to try more than once. 

The familial part of the home looked nothing like the elegant, cold entry hall of his family's manor, nor did the connecting living room resemble any parlor or sitting room that he's ever been in. It looked well-used, lacking the meticulous housekeeping that the maids kept, with a blanket crumpled up on the couch and a video game console pushed to the side, like someone had finished playing in a hurry. He could see into the open kitchen from the living room and noticed that although it looked clean, there were dishes stacked in the skin. Was this how commoners lived? Clearly despite their beloved establishment, the Dupain-Chengs weren't nearly as well off as some of the other members of their school, like himself, Adrien, and Chloe. So how did they attend? The tuition was rather costly; did she get in on scholarship? 

Of course, Felix had enough sense not to ask her about her family's financial status. Things simply weren't done in polite society, and while Felix often didn't feel the need to follow those unspoken rules, there was no need to insult someone in their own home. 

Dupain-Cheng sat on the couch while Felix took the love seat nearby, sitting gingerly upon it as though it could bite him. Despite the home being so banal, Felix found himself... liking it. It was warm, much like how the bakery below was warm, with a lingering sense of comfort radiating from every square centimeter of the home. He found himself sinking into the plush of the chair without meaning to. 

To distract his mind, he tucked into lunch, only to find his meal delicious. He paused after a single mouthful. Somehow, the simple meal was able to rival those made by the professional chefs in his family's employ. Good work deserves to be complimented, so Felix told Dupain-Cheng so and she flushed. "T-Thanks. I'm sure my parents appreciate it," she said with a cough, having swallowed some of her food wrong. "Would you like to go over where we are in the curriculum now?"

"Yes, that would be quite useful."

She showed him her notes for their classes and just as he thought, he was already ahead in most subjects. The only exception was literature, but only because his school had focused more on British authors than French. Still, it wouldn't take for him to catch up. But there was still one thing about the day that bothered him and since Dupain-Cheng volunteered her service, he asked, "I am unsure if this falls under you assisting me around the school, but could you explain what that Lila girl was trying to do today?"

Dupain-Cheng set down her utensils and exhaled heavily. "What has she lied about this time?"

"Apparently I pushed her after a greeting. Which is odd because I had no idea she existed before class." Not that Felix really cared. But saying he pushed her was a step too far; he has far more subtly than direct physical assault. At least be clever when you try to slander him!

"Huh, so she's directly attacking you already? That's weird, I could have sworn she'd make up some lie about forgiving you and promising to help you meet your favorite celebrity if you promised to be nice."

He scoffed, but Dupain-Cheng made no similar noise. Like... she was serious. Oh God, she was serious. "Are you telling me people actually believe that swill?" 

"Most of our class, Mme Bustier, and our principal. Fortunately she hasn't started working on making the people in other classes believe her yet, but there are a handful there too." It seemed as though speaking about it unleashed a dam inside the girl. "And it doesn't make any sense because most of her lies can be disproven with either an internet search or a phone call! She claimed that she saved Jagged Stone's cat from an airplane, but was there any media coverage from it? None at all! She claims to go on all these expensive vacations, but either her photos got damaged on the way back or she just shows the class stock images of generic tourist stuff. And the volunteer work! Sure, I can understand charities not advertising who their workers are, but all you'd have to do is call them and every charity she's mentioned ends up saying that a Lila Rossi never worked with their organization. I just... I don't understand how they can keep falling for this stuff! None of them even bother to consider that she could be lying!" Her chest heaved after her rant, but she looked relieved, like she'd finally been able to get it off her chest. "They... none of them even think that I'm telling the truth," she continued in a small voice. "They all think that poorly of me."

Their... classmates, as much as Felix hated to admit any relation to those morons, had really done a number on her. He found empathy to be distasteful, especially with his plan to become a ruthless business man later in life, but he could help but pity her. Not that he'd ever admit it. Perhaps he could change the subject? Or at least lighten the mood. 

"I'm going to be surrounded by idiots then. Lovely." She shot him a hurt look. "Well, not you. Obviously. Though seeing past such a clear liar isn't really a point towards you as it is a negative three against the others."

"You rate people on a point scale?" Her eyes were starting to lighten, brighten. 

"Only when I need to inform others of how lowly I consider them." He sniffed haughtily. 

"Does that mean you think better of me than them?" she teased, a small smile lifting the corners of her mouth.

"No need to get a big head now; it's not that you're better, but rather that you're less awful." He smirked in return, hopefully letting her know that he was returning her tease. At least, he thought that's what he was doing. He never really understood how to communicate with his peers in a fashion that reflected well on him. 

"I'm pretty sure that's the definition of better though." 

"Well, if you're so desperate to claim the title, you could always prove it." Felix folded his hands under his chin. "Prove that you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, are worthy of my time."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not sure if I want it now."

He frowned in disappointment, but inside he was triumphant. "Truly a shame; and here I wanted to get to know the real Dupain-Cheng... But alas I fear that knowledge will forever be out of reach." 

"Who says 'alas' anymore?"

"Well!" he huffed, "Just because you're unused to refined vocabulary doesn't mean you have to insult me, Mademoiselle!"

The verbal sparring went back and forth for a while and as rapier wit battled rapier wit, Felix found it hard to keep a smile off his face.


	4. Chapter 4

Lunch with Dupain-Cheng was surprisingly pleasant. She was a talented girl, having no trouble detailing her various accomplishments, designing for Jagged Stone and winning his uncle’s hat contest, but remaining humble all throughout. Almost _too_ humble, amounting some of her success to luck and good timing. She seemed used to undervaluing herself, but there was away to find out for sure.

“Dupain-Cheng, I find myself impressed by your skills. While this is not public knowledge, my mother’s birthday is soon—” It was not, but she didn’t need to know that—“and I would like to commission a dress from you. How much do you charge for a consultation? If I have enough on my person, we could do it now.”

She paused, surprised. “I… don’t. usually I make my friends things for free, let alone charge them for a consultation.”

Felix frowned. “As… odd as a business practice that is, I cannot allow you to work on my behalf and not pay you for it.”

“Really, I must insist.” Her smile wavered.

“And so do I. Which means, we are at an impasse. Perhaps we can save the discussion for a later date?”

“My answer’s not going to change.”

“Perhaps, but… the time will give me a chance.” Felix looked at her, resolved. “You seem to be under the impression that I am like the other… simpletons in your class. Allow me to reassure you; that is not the case. From previous statements, it can be assumed that your classmates have taken advantage of your generosity before, correct?”

“I wouldn’t call it that…”

“Yet that is what happened. Supplying presents for birthdays or occasional gifts is one thing, but you make it sound like you’ve been regularly providing your craft for free.”

“They… can’t afford commission prices all the time. I can understand that.”

Felix scoffed. “Francis-Dupont is a private school, yet they can’t afford commission prices that, based on your behavior, are actually far lower than someone of your skill should be paid? If they can’t afford to buy something, then they shouldn’t ask for it. It’s common sense.”

“Friends do things for free sometimes!”

“Don’t you mean all the time? And despite my previous lack of friendships, its to my understanding that these things are supposed to be small, like babysitting once in a blue moon or bringing snacks to a study session, not working on clothing that has stolen hours of your time and effort.”

She faltered for a moment, her eyes growing wide. “You’ve never—” She shook her head. “It’s not like they’re asking for entire wardrobes or something!” She snapped. “Besides, they haven’t asked for anything since… since Lila convinced them I was bullying her.”

“Good for them. But that is not the point I was trying to make. The point is that I am not the type of person to take advantage like that.”

She glared. “And what kind of person are you then?”

Felix smirked. He liked it when she got angry. It was so much more fun than her sadness. “The kind that appreciates good work. And that is willing to pay for it.” He smirked. “Now, your consultation price?”

Dupain-Cheng was not happy—no, that was easy to see with her glare—but she resigned herself to letting him pay for the consultation, though there was no doubt in Felix’s mind that she’d put up another fight when it came time to actually pay for the piece. Felix… liked it. It was so rare that he got to properly outtalk someone who had a chance at winning. Even working past her being taken advantage of was exciting; he barely even noticed he was helping her.

That in and of itself was concerning, but not to a greater degree. There was no hardship in this—at most he was just talking to her. He was protecting a future investment. There was no doubt in his mind that Dupain-Cheng would be a fantastic fashion designer one day, surpassing even his uncle. And if she felt kindly towards him…

They finished the consultation with ten minutes of lunch to spare, having decided on a stylist beaded jacket. Their dishware was deposited in the downstairs kitchen where M. Dupain was frosting a dozen cupcakes and they began their short walk back to the school. It was a productive lunch, one of the better ones in more resent weeks. Before the change in schools, Felix often ate lunch quickly and relocated to the library for work. During the two months he was out of school taking care of his dying father, he ate lunch alone in their manor, with his mother often too busy to make time for the midday meal. But now, here in Paris… he figured he could get used to lunches like this, if Dupain-Cheng continued to be entertaining.

Together, they walked into class only to be met with a crowd surrounding the crying Lila girl. The girl looked up as they entered and her face morphed into a smirk before falling back into self-made despair. “M-Marinette!!” Felix sneered. She couldn’t even studder correctly. “How could you say those mean things about me!”

Dupain-Cheng sighed, already resigned to the situation. “What things?”

“You! You don’t even remember!?” Lila choked on a sob. Her face wasn’t even wet. “You cornered me in the bathroom at lunch and said—” A sniffle—“And said you were going to make me lose all my friends! How could you!?”

“Yes, Dupain-Cheng, how could you?” Felix repeated, sarcasm clear in his voice. Dupain-Cheng whipped around to glare at him. “Teleporting back to school during our conversation to threaten someone, made even more impressive by the fact that I only took my eyes off you for a second. The gall. The audacity.”

The crowd seemed shaken, as if they’d not remembered watching Dupain-Cheng leave out the front door. Perhaps they didn’t. Perhaps the liar made them so incensed they didn’t care. Either way, doubt seemed to seep into the students, with a handful—a red-headed boy, a pink-haired short girl—throwing suspicious glances at Rossi.

Still, one had to admire Rossi’s ability to regain everyone’s sympathy. She pointed a shaky figure at him. “Y-You’re covering for her! I hear you talk to her as she left; you were probably guarding the bathroom door!”

Felix scoffed. “Yes, because I have nothing better to do than play lacky to someone I met today and skulk outside the woman’s bathroom.” He brushed past Dupain-Cheng, heading towards his seat. “Perhaps if you used your brain, you would have asked if anyone had seen me leave with Dupain-Cheng. And, in fact! Someone has.” He gestured towards Adrien, who’d stayed silent up until this time. “So, dear cousin, want to tell anyone where I’ve been lately? Or does that require growing a spine?”

Adrien shot him a dirty look, but addressed the class. “He’s telling the truth; I saw them leave together for the Dupain-Cheng bakery.”

The wind was taken out of the class’s collective anger and they started to disperse, a few even apologizing to Dupain-Cheng as she returned to her seat next to him. Rossi looked furious, as the Lady Wifi girl tried to comfort her by saying she probably mistook someone else for Marinette and it was going to be alright. Felix was sure she was going to start another tantrum when Mme Bustier entered the room to continue school.

Felix was ready to start taking notes in his leather-bound journal when a piece of paper brushed his arm. Dupain-Cheng had poked him with her spiral notebook, the only thing upon the page being the words “Thank you.” Her writing was rather beautiful, Felix noticed distantly. He met her eyes and she smiled, small but sweet. He nodded in return, pushing the notebook back towards her.

It was nothing to thank him over, he told himself. He just couldn’t stand such obvious lies.


	5. Chapter 5

The rest of the day passed quietly. Though perhaps not peacefully, as there were still some students who would turn around to glare at him, but the number was far fewer than that morning. Had that small confrontation with Rossi really affected them so badly? Or was it another matter entirely?

It didn’t really matter, so long as it didn’t involve him.

For his first day, he supposed it could have been worse. In history, they were allowed to choose partners for a project—building a timeline of all the important events of the French Revolution—so at least he was only stuck with Dupain-Cheng. He could have been forced to work with someone who’d sabotage the project as ill thought out revenge, like Bourgeois or her servant. Or worse, they would try to make him do all the work and take the credit, as he suspected Rossi would do; though, in case of the later, he would be the one doing the sabotage. At least with Dupain-Cheng, he could focus on the project, though if she was a competent partner remained to be seen.

As the final bell rang, Dupain-Cheng turned to him. “So, when do you want to meet for this?” She tapped a finger on the assignment sheet and Felix barely paid attention as he packed up in school bag. “We should probably get it done as soon as possible. So, today?”

Felix shook his head. “Unfortunately, I need to return to the hotel. My mother arranged for me to meet with a real estate agent so that I may rent an apartment for the remainder of my stay in Paris.” There was no way he could be convinced to stay in the same hotel with Chloe Bourgeois for longer than a week. “I imagine it will take several hours, so we should start tomorrow instead. Although…” He looked closer at the assignment sheet. “This mentions that the teacher is looking for several events mentioned in class. Do you have a copy of your notes I can borrow?”

She nodded. “I can make a photo-copy of them and bring them in tomorrow if you like?”

“That would work; simply make sure they are legible.”

Having finished packing, Felix stood, looming over Dupain-Cheng. She stared up at him, unconcerned. “I’ll see you tomorrow then,” she said.

“Indeed.” Felix turned away from her to walk down the stepped, but someone’s foot was in the way. An accident, or someone trying to trip him? Either way… Felix hid a smirk as walked down as casual as can be, stomping on the offender’s foot as he went.

The offender—a large jock with a mean glare—hissed and pulled his leg away. “You stepped on me!” he accused.

Felix smirked. “My apologies,” he said, not sounding apologetic at all. “I simply didn’t notice your foot sticking out in the middle of the walkway. Do be more careful about that next time; that’s a good way to break a bone.”

He walked away to pure silence, not even the teacher daring to speak up for the student, but the moment he left the room it erupted into noise. He scoffed. Children.


	6. Chapter 6

Felix did eventual manage to pick out an apartment suitable towards his tastes. It would still be a while before he could live there, since it took time to furnish it and he still had to decide what furniture he actually _wanted_ , but at least it was done for now. There was a miniscule amount of homework to be completed, but Felix had far more interesting plans he wanted to work on.

Akumatizations were so convenient, he mused as he scrolled through the Ladyblog. No one blamed the akuma for their actions since they gained amnesia the moment they were purified. If it weren’t for the fact that akumas were difficult to control, he would use one to get the other de Vanily ring. But as he continued to analysis the blog, he found himself growing perpetually more disgusted with the state Paris was in.

When he first arrived in Paris, he didn’t realize how much the terrorist Hawkmoth affected life here. Before seeing the trio he created with his stunt, he thought it was more a mild inconvenience than a life-threatening attack. That was why he bothered negotiating with Hawkmoth for the rings; he didn’t think Hawkmoth was life threatening.

In his research, Felix discovered Sandboy, who brought fears to life, Syren, who drowned the entirety of Pairs, and Hero’s Day, where a massive amount of people were akumatized and the terrorist nearly won. The blog, which he recognized as belonging to that Lady Wifi woman, acted like these events were no big deal, that just because Ladybug could do her miraculous cure that all trauma from the events was solved.

He felt ill at the idea of involving Hawkmoth in his plans. But the other Miraculous holders… that was an idea.

There was little information on the other Miraculous holders in Paris. Obviously, there were Ladybug and Chat Noir, but even if he could get one Miraculous, the other holder would likely hunt him down until he returned it. There were others though, and that’s where his research needed to be directed. The Turtle didn’t seem useful, nor did Bourgeois’ Bee (though the look on her face would definitely be worth it…). The Fox was a probability, but he needed something specific to sneaking around. Something that would make him invisible, or allowed him to pick locks.

Something conducive to stealing.

It’s not like he could just ask his uncle for the other ring back. Even if they were originally stolen, Gabriel never particularly liked him—said he was a “far too mischievous influence on his son.” There’s no possible way he was getting back into that mansion.

Unless he knocked Adrien out and pretended to be him, but Felix wasn’t that desperate.

Yet.

But in his research, Felix noticed something else. Lady Wifi didn’t seem to understand the concept of privacy and wrote down every name of each akuma she reported on, both the one Hawkmoth gave them… and their real name. And while Felix didn’t care enough to remember names, it was easy to match faces with akumatized forms.

And almost everyone in his new class had been akumatized at some point.

He smirked. This would be entertaining.


	7. Chapter 7

Felix didn’t expect Adrien to confront him on the way to school, though in retrospect, he probably should have. As the Agreste limo pulled up beside him on the street, Felix suppressed the urge to walk in the other direction. Adrien really had no sense of subtlety, did he.

The car door opened and Adrien peered out at him with a strained smile. “Cousin!” He spoke with enthusiasm he clearly didn’t feel. “Why don’t you ride with me today? I don’t want you to be late for school.”

“That’s really not necessary, Adrien—”

“No, I _insist._ ”

Adrien was the type to keep following him in the limo if he refused. Felix would prefer not to face the attention such an action would gather so, with a sigh, Felix nodded and Adrien scooted over so he could sit beside him. Felix shot him a glare as the door closed behind him and the limo started moving again. “Well, go on. What do you want?”

“What do I want? What do _you_ want?” Adrien snapped back. “You were the one who worked with Hawkmoth! Why wouldn’t I want to keep an eye on someone like that?”

“How do you know that?”

His expression faltered, but only for a moment. “Chat Noir told me. Now, answer the question.”

How did Adrien know Chat Noir? As far as his research showed, both main heroes were notoriously elusive outside of battles. Did the cat actually think he was threatening enough to warn civilians about? That could seriously hurt his, and his family’s, reputation. He had to cut this off now.

“I didn’t know how… serious the Hawkmoth situation was.” The best lies had a grain of truth after all. “You don’t hear a lot about it in England, or even outside of Paris; after some research, I do think the mayor is suppressing the information.” He looked away, pretend ashamed. “I… I was very angry at you, Adrien. But please believe me that I wouldn’t have done it if I thought you were in genuine danger.”

The limo was starting to approach the school.

Adrien looked shocked. “You were angry at me.”

Felix carefully controlled his face to prevent himself from sneering. “I still am. You expected everyone to cater to your feelings regarding your mother, but you refused to care about anyone else. I miss Aunt Emilie too, but you act like I have no right to grieve. Regardless of my actions, I have learned my lesson. Lessons, in fact. One of them being not to trust anything magic.”

Adrien’s lips twitched with amusement. “And the other?”

The limo slowed to a stop and Felix placed a hand on the door handle. “Not to trust you, since you always pick the easy way out.” Felix left his cousin to his shock, striding out of the limo like he was born to do so. Up ahead, Dupain-Cheng was waiting on the steps, having seen him leave the limo. She waved at him and he nodded in return.

He had much more important things to do than baby his cousin’s feelings.


	8. Chapter 8

The library was near empty; understandable, considering the bright sun overhead. Most of his peers would rather be out enjoying the weather, but the lack of students made the library the perfect place to get their project done in one fell swoop. Of course, he and Dupain-Cheng kept their voices as low as possible, with the quiet able to carry sound far farther than usual, but it was worth it to get something as troublesome as this out of the way.

“Alright,” Felix quickly saved the document on his laptop, “I do believe that’s everything we were supposed to mention. As well as a few extra historical events just to be sure. Anything else?”

Dupain-Cheng looked up from one of the many history books surrounding them. The rest were scattered on the table. “Perhaps… Important inventions, maybe? Like, the creation of the guillotine? And maybe we could add important works of art too.”

“…That could work,” Felix allowed. He wasn’t particularly looking forward to the additional work, but it would prove that they were both passionate about the subject matter and willing to include further context for the material. “It’s better to go above and beyond than languish in obscurity.”

“Have you ever considered talking like a normal teenager?”

“Of course not; the average vernacular is _far_ to _plebian_ for my tastes.”

“…You’re escalating because I called you out on it.”

“In all sincerity, I don’t know quite what you are alluding too. My dialect, despite not being as prone of palaverous discussions, in purely my own.” Felix grinned and Dupain-Cheng rolled her eyes.

“If you keep going, at this rate you’ll end up a vocabulary akuma.”

“There have been vocabulary akumas?”

“Nope! You’ll be the first. Lucky you, all unique!” She giggled quietly.

Felix stood his head, then checked his watch. “It’s almost 4:30; isn’t that when you said your parents needed you back?”

She was shocked at the time. “It’s already that late? I thought we could get everything done today…”

“We got the biggest part done. Why don’t we research individually tonight and finish the project tomorrow?”

“That could work… Here, let me give you my number so we can decide when later.” She ripped out a page of notebook paper and scribbled her phone number on it. Felix grimaced from the torn edges and swore to shred the page once he had saved her number. “Here you go!”

He took the offered paper and folded it carefully so the torn edges where on the inside before placing it in his bag. The last thing he needed was little annoying bits of paper flying everywhere in there. “Thank you. I’ll contact you once I return to my residence.”

Dupain-Cheng nodded and their workspace was quickly cleared within a few minutes, but as they started to leave, they heard a loud voice, completely inappropriate for a library. “What!? What do you mean, she stole your notes for the project!?”

Felix cautiously peeked out from behind their cuticle in the back of the library, with Dupain-Cheng right behind him, to see that Lady Wifi and the Rossi girl had taken a table near where they had worked. The two clearly hadn’t noticed who they were sitting a few meters away from. Rossi theatrically shushed Lady Wifi. “Be quiet! I don’t want to cause any trouble…”

“Get in trouble!? Girl, Marinette stole from you!” Beside him, Dupain-Cheng stiffened. “You worked all yesterday on those notes, and she’s probably going to use them in her own project! You have to tell someone!”

Felix spared a glance down at Dupain-Cheng and lost his breath. She looked incandescent with fury, an angry flush coloring her checks, hands clenched so hard he could see the bone, a welling of tears that never fell but made her eyes look bright. She was still all except for a slight tremor in her arms, not even breathing. She glared at the two liars with the rage of fire unhindered. And Felix was trapped next to her, a living Athena seconds from confronting the unsuspecting Arachne.

But then she breathed and it was like all the fury sucked back inside her as a blackhole consumes a star. Tension bled from her form. In seconds, she was back to Dupain-Cheng, who kept her emotions in a tight lock in her chest so they wouldn’t hurt anyone. She sagged with resignation, turning away from the two girls before Felix whispered, “How is your acting right now?”

She turned back, startled, and shrugged, raising an eyebrow with the unspoken question.

Felix smirked. “Follow my lead.”

“Good job already having your notes in order for our project, Dupain-Cheng,” Felix said, slightly louder than Lady Wifi had spoken. He pretended to gather his schoolwork, the cubical blocking them almost entirely from sight while still allowing sound to travel. Dupain-Cheng’s eyes were wide and all chatter from Rossi’s table had disappeared. “We managed to finish early thanks to you.”

He nudged her into speaking. “I-It wasn’t a problem!” She replied, her voice strained. Amateur, but acceptable.

“Do you mind if I print out our timeline? I can put it in a professional portfolio to impress the teacher.”

“That sounds fine, thanks!”

“Very well. May I walk you out today?” He offered her his elbow before whispering, “So they don’t harass you if you’re alone.”

She nodded, understanding. “Thank you, you may.”

They strode out of the cubical together, arm in arm. Felix deliberately didn’t look at their two classmates and hoped Dupain-Cheng did the same. Neither spoke until the thick doors of the library were between the two groups. Dupain-Cheng dropped his arm. “Are you going to explain what that was about? We’re not finished with our project, you know.”

“I’m aware. But no, I won’t explain. You’ll just have to wait and see.” He started walking away, throwing up a casual wave without looking behind him. “Stay out of sight, Dupain-Cheng.”

This was going to be funny, he thought.


	9. Chapter 9

Felix arrived at school the next day with a leather binder in hand. It was beautiful to look at; soft, brown leather squished slightly at the touch, three rings inside that opened with a quiet click, a rose design indented into the back that was colored darker than the rest of the leather. The paper inside was of common quality that Felix had to buy specifically for this project; he wouldn’t dare waste any higher quality stock for this. The text inside was neat, the pages perfectly straight and unwrinkled. It was immaculate, the type of project that one would want to give an A to for appearances alone. It was eye-catching, elegant.

And irresistible.

He made sure that Rossi and Lady Wifi caught an eyeful of his binder as he approached his seat in the back. In truth, Felix almost remembered Lady Wifi’s name after a few days in her class (it started with a C?), but it was rather enjoyable to watch her sputter to her akuma name. Unfortunately, Dupain-Cheng had yet to arrive, but he had texted her early, telling her to be in school before the first bell. Tardiness was unattractive, especially when it prevented him from causing the mischief he craved.

Finally, three minutes before the first bell, Dupain-Cheng stumbled in the door, prompting laughter from the class. Felix frowned. Did he really have to spend all his time around such cruel children? His mother would probably allow a transfer if he told her how everyone acted here… but no, he’d miss all the fun if he left now.

“Dupain-Cheng!” Felix said in a loud voice, ignoring how the class paid attention to him. “I got our project printed!”

“R-Really?” A pity she was so bad at lying. She’d probably get better if she had more confidence, but that was a conversation for another day. She sat down in her seat beside him. “I thought it would take longer than that.”

“Well, you provided such good notes, I wanted to seem equally prepared.” From the corner of his eye, he saw Lady Wifi gnashing her teeth. He handed her the binder. “Do you want to look and see?”

She opened it, flipping past the first page and reading the first paragraph. Her eye widened. “This is—”

“I know a title page seems a bit much, but I thought it would add an air of professionalism to the project.” He cut her off to prevent his fun from being spoiled too early. “Besides, I know that once we enter Lycée, history will require title pages for big projects.”

“I… guess…” Having picked up on what he wanted to do, she was hesitant, shooting a quick glance at the people below. “But really, you shouldn’t have—”

“I know, aren’t I the nicest?” He smirked, daring her to talk about what he did in class. In front of people who hate both of them. Really, it would be their own fault if they fell for his little prank, not his and certainly not hers. He wasn’t forcing them to do anything.

He just wasn’t stopping them either.

Dupain-Cheng gulped and nodded. “Yes, you are. Thank you.”

“It was a pleasure. Since we still have a few days before we must turn it in, I’ll take it home after today. But, if you want to look at it, just ask.”

“I don’t think I will, but thank you anyway.”

“Very well, Dupain-Cheng.”

“You know—” Felix turned to her. He’d thought their conversation over. “You can… you can call me Marinette. If you want.” She refused to look at him. She wasn’t blushing; in fact, he couldn’t detect any expression on her face. But her eyes held a different story. It was a peace offering, a formal treaty between two sovereign nations to assist if the other go to war. She would help him… but in return, he’d have to help her as well.

Felix inclined his head. “Then you may call me Felix.” A formal ally. He hadn’t had one in years, not since Adrien became untrustworthy. But from what he already knew of Dupain-Cheng—Marinette—their enemies would soon tremble in their wake.

School passed and they went to the bakery for lunch again, Felix leaving the pretty binder in his locker.

By the time they came back, the binder was long gone. Felix smirked at Marinette, and she laughed in return.

They took the bait.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was just a filler, fml.   
> we see the fallout of felix's prank next chapter.

A few days after they turned in their history project (his and Marinette’s, fortunately, did not receive any further molestation from their classmates), Felix was alerted to his apartment being finished. It was about time; it had taken over a week to finalize ownership. Absolutely ridiculous, forcing him to watch in the Bourgeois’ hotel that long.

He grimaced realizing that had quoted Chloe’s catchphrase.

Felix flipped through the pictures he had taken that morning when he dropped by to leave his luggage there. As elegant as the apartment was, it was still… empty. Not of furniture, no, he had had it delivered and it was there, waiting for him to use. But of everything else that made a place home. Having grown up in his family’s manor, full of decades of memories of the Graham de Vanily’s who came before him, it was bare. There were no linins, no decorations, no history. True, it was his and his alone, but going from his ancestral home to an apartment made him feel… uneasy.

He didn’t know how to decorate a space.

Marinette poked him, startling him from his thoughts. “Class just ended,” she explained. “You’ve been thinking so hard, you missed it. What’s on your mind?”

“Will you assist me in an effort of interior design?” he blurted out.

She blinked at the non-sequitur. “I… sure? I don’t have anything planned today. What do you need me to do?”

Felix barely hid a relieved sigh. “The apartment I plan to live in is finally ready, but it’s… rather drab. Here, you can see.” He gave her his phone so she could look over the pictures. “The furniture is all there, but there’s…”

“No personality,” she finished, flipping through his pictures. “I can’t see you living here at all.” She returned his phone.

“Precisely. Now, I have to decorate it, however… I find myself rather uneducated in this matter.”

“What exactly are you having trouble with?”

“All of it. I have no idea how to make this apartment feel like home and it will bother me until it does.”

Marinette grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. “Come on; I know some places that are having a discount on linins right now. We can pick up those and see what we need to build from there.”

Felix followed, only slightly reluctant. “…Discount?”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Guys! I just wanted to make an announcement that this fic finally has a Spotify playlist! If you're interested, please check it out, and if you want to offer suggestions, please leave a comment down below or at my tumblr, https://charlietheepicwriter7.tumblr.com . Right now, most of the songs on here are from musicals, so I need a little help! Thank you!
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3S1iYp1QLjBANBQn9SGDAT?si=t6edwEeATsazHAJIY9U2_g

D-Day.

Devereux, the history professor, was handing back their projects, finally graded. Felix, of course, knew that his and Marinette’s deserved nothing less than a perfect score.

What grades other people got… well, that was their own business. If they decided to share that information with the class, then he’d take pleasure in it.

He and Marinette received their own before certain other people. He flipped open the professional black binder to reveal their perfect score on the cover page. Marinette’s smile was blinding and Felix found it hard to breath for a second as a soft smile that only existed around his mother began to form on his lips.

“ ** _What_**!?” A screech flung from the front of the class. His smile morphed into a smirk as Rossi stared at M. Devereux with horrified eyes. “How did we get a failure!?” 

“If you have any questions about your results, I will address them after class, Mlle. Rossi.”

“B-But we used Lila’s notes!” Cesaire replied unable to stop a glance at those in the back. In her hands, clear for everyone to see, was the rose-imbedded binder Felix had ‘lost’ the week previous. “It should have been perfect!”

“After class.”

Rossi shot a glare at them—pathetic, she thought she still had a chance—and burst into a symphony of fake tears. “I-I knew I shouldn’t have let Marinette look at our project! She probably swapped the contents of our binder when I wasn’t looking!”

The class turned back to look at them, but M. Devereux would have no accusations of plagiarism in his class. “While it is possible someone could have switched your assignment, it is because both you and Mlle. Cesaire’s names were only on the title page of your assignment. M. Graham de Vanily and Mlle. Dupain-Cheng’s names were on each page in the header, as the formatting instructions required.” His eyes narrowed. “Please refrain from shouting in my classroom.”

“T-Then!” Rossi’s voice cracked unpleasantly, “They must have re-typed the assignment!”

Felix rolled his eyes. “That’s too much work.”

Marinette nodded, then frowned. “Hey… isn’t that the binder you lost last week?” She asked, her voice the perfect picture of innocence, drawing the class’s attention to the rather memorable piece of leather. “The one you reported to lost and found but never heard back from?”

“Yes, I think it is. Why do you both have it?”

Rossi snatched the binder from Cesaire’s arms, clutching it to her chest. “No it’s not! It must be a different one!”

One of the other classmates spoke up—a blond one, the Princess Fragrance girl. “But it has the same rose on it!” By holding it against her chest, Rossi revealed the memorable rose backing to the world. “I remember it because I thought it was so pretty!”

“Y-Yeah, that’s why I bought one just like it!” Rossi’s smile was flawless.

Felix cocked an eyebrow. “You bought a hundred-euro binder that looks exactly like the one that went missing?” Some strain. He shrugged. “Sure, I’ll buy it… if you can provide the receipt.”

“Huh?”

“The receipt, Rossi.” Felix dug around in his back for his receipt pouch and pulled out the one for the binder; it was ready at the front just for this purpose. “I have my own, for my binder. Provide yours, and I won’t report you for stealing.”

“I bought it online,” came the swift lie.

“Then show proof of purchase on your phone,” Marinette quickly rebutted.

“Not that she can,” Felix added. “Since this store doesn’t sell it’s more expensive items online, only in person.” He grinned, watching as the rusty gears in Rossi’s head began to smoke from the pressure. “So how’d you manage to do that?”

“It’s not from the same store, obviously.”

“So another store just so happened to be carrying the exact same handmade binder?” he snorted. “Just tell us the truth, Rossi; some of us want to go to lunch.”

“I… I…” Her eyes were darting around the room, meeting friendly and unfriendly gazes alike when she suddenly burst into tears. “I’m sorry!” she wailed. “I found the binder in lost and found! It, it was so pretty, and I didn’t know it was yours, Felix! Please forgive me!”

The few hostile classmates seemed to be on the brink of doing so, but before Felix could interject, Marinette said, “So you stole it from lost and found? How is that much better?”

“That’s not the same, Marinette,” Adrien said, narrowing his eyes at her. So he would defend the liar and not his own cousin’s stolen property? How shameful… and utterly expected. “It was just lost and found. If it was important to Felix, he wouldn’t have lost it, would he?”

“I’ve found Markov in lost and found; are you saying that he’s not important?” The Gamer boy’s jaw dropped, before he leveled a glare at Adrien. “And Alix’s skates, and Nathaniel’s sketchbook, and Rose’s perfumes. Are you saying those aren’t important?”

“No!”

“Then why isn’t it important when it’s your cousin’s things?”

“That’s enough!” M. Devereux spoke above her voice. “Students, you are dismissed for lunch. Mlle. Cesaire, Mlle. Rossi, stay. We have something to speak about.” The students hesitated, unsure. “I want this classroom empty now.”

Felix and Marinette escaped in the max exodus, Felix gloating inwardly at the scowl Rossi shot him. It felt good to irritate her. They separated from the class to head towards the bakery.

As soon as they were out of sight, Mariette let out a little giggle. “They didn’t even check it!”

“Shows their average intelligence then, though I wasn’t really expecting them too. I did insinuate that the project was complete, after all. And who proofreads the assignment they stole?” It was a bit tedious, go through their own assignment and altering the dates and names so that only half the timeline was correct, but he considered it well worth the effort.

“So that’s what you two did.” They stopped and turned. Adrien had been following them, a stern scowl on his face. Felix felt Marinette falter at his side. “You deliberately made them fail.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say deliberately.” Felix quickly shielded her with his body. “It was more of a happy accident that they didn’t check. My real plan was to use the binder from the start.” No one buys a binder like that unless they wanted it to be remembered, after all.

“But you still let them turn in a false assignment.”

“That they stole. They didn’t have to steal it. They didn’t have to turn in work that wasn’t theirs. They chose this outcome.” Felix tapped his chin. “Or rather, Rossi chose this.”

“They couldn’t choose anything, they didn’t know anything! Lila was probably just… worried about her grade. If anything, you two should have helped her!”

“If she needed help, she should have met with the teacher. Not steal another person’s assignment. If you must, think of it as a prank. Or karma.”

“It’s not karma when you make other people suffer for her actions!” Adrien snapped. “Now Lila’s probably going to get akumatized again!”

“And how is that our problem? We’re kids, we don’t have to deal with akumas.”

Adrien’s argument seemed to stumble, his eyes growing wide. “C-Chat Noir will have to! I’m just trying to keep down the amount of work the heroes face! Although—” Adrien’s eyes gained a rather cruel glint to them— “You wouldn’t know much about that, would you. In fact, if I remember right, you make their jobs harder.”

Felix failed to hide a wince at the thought of the triple akuma he caused. But before he could return fire, Marinette spoke up from behind him, though her voice was too low to hear.

Adrien frowned. “What was that?”

“I said—” Marinette brushed past Felix, her eyes shining wetly with rage. “That’s a LOW BLOW, Adrien Agreste!!”


	12. When the Chips are Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All y'all: Go off, Mari!  
> Me: Oh, there is so much more to this than that. >:3

Marinette had long since accepted that, to prevent akumatization, she needed surefire ways to calm herself down. The risk of Hawkmoth’s victory was too high if she allowed herself to get too panicky, or too angry, or too scared—

But the average person couldn’t keep their cool all the time. It wasn’t feasible. And, Ladybug or not, Marinette was still an average girl.

The best method she found was the one-minute rule. All she had to do was allow herself to experience the full emotion for a minute, doing whatever came to mind to express the emotion—panicking, yelling, throwing her bag across the room—before wrapping the feeling up tight and forcing herself to relax.

So she only gave herself a minute to deal with Adrien Agreste. Fortunately, a minute was all she needed… and all he could handle.

* * *

Adrien flinched at her scorching tone, stepping back as she stepped forward to deal with him. “Marinette—”

“First of all, you don’t get to decide if someone has made Ladybug and Chat Noir’s lives harder. Last I checked, you are neither of them! Ladybug and Chat Noir have never complained about civilians, either the akumatized or anyone else; the only person they have on record complained about is Hawkmoth, which they have a solid right to do so.”

“W-Wait, Mari—”

“Secondly, it is never a civilian’s fault that someone got akumatized!” She jabbed a finger in Adrien’s face. She could feel Felix’s shock. “The only person at fault is Hawkmoth, so don’t you ever blame Felix for something that man caused!

“Third, even if people could be blamed for causing an akuma, there are far worse people you could put your blame on. Like, for example, Chloe, your childhood friend who has been involved with nearly all of our classmates akumatizations, and even some of their relatives.” Her grin was sharp. “So, it’s a good thing we don’t blame people for getting others akumatized, right Adrien?”

“Marinette, that’s not—”

“And finally—” She breathed deep and exhaled loudly, forcing out the rage along with it. “I am sick and tired of whatever this—” She gestured between the two boys—“is. You’re cousins, and _sure,_ you don’t get along, I can understand that. I don’t like my cousins that much ether. But this? Your constant snipping, the regular assassination of Felix’s character…” She sighed and blinked away unshed tears. “It’s too much.”

“I haven’t been _snipping_ at him!”

“It’s true, you don’t do it nearly as often as he does.” She glanced at Felix, who tried to look innocent. “And I tell him off for it. But you’re the one who said that if Felix lost something, it means he doesn’t care about it. You’re the one who said he makes Ladybug’s job harder. You _start_ things, Adrien.”

“I don’t!” Adrien denied. “B-Besides, even if I did, you don’t know what he’s like when we’re alone. He’s cruel, Marinette.”

“Are you sure about that?” She challenged. “Because Adrien, Felix has been a lot better about his behavior recently. You haven’t seen it because you don’t bother spending time with him, but there’s no need to constantly defame him.”

“But he caused that akuma on the anniversary—”

“And that was a really mean thing to do, I understand that, Adrien.” She glared. “But whatever happened to the high road?”

He stepped back.

“Because based on your actions, either you think your own cousin isn’t worth the high road approach, or you never thought very highly of it to begin with.” She crossed her arms. “So which is it?”

He shot her a frustrated look. “Marinette, this isn’t about Felix. This is about you two conspiring to humiliate Lila!”

“Would you prefer she humiliate us instead?” Felix asked, mirroring her pose. He nodded at her. “Because that’s what Rossi tries to do. She makes up her little lies, she gets the class worked up into a frenzy, and points them at us. She wants your ‘good friend’ to be miserable, Adrien.”

“She just… wants friends. Hurting her isn’t going to change anything.”

“But coddling her is only going to make things worse.”

“She’s not hurting anyone.”

She shot Adrien a glare. “You can say that when you’re the one who’s losing their friends because of Lila. But I don’t want to hear a word from you until that happens.”

“Marinette, it’s just a misunderstanding!” Adrien said. “Look, Alya has been really worried about you since you started hanging out with Felix—”

“If Alya is worried, she can say it to me herself. Neither of us need you to interfere on our behalf.” If Alya had something to say, she could say it to Marinette’s face instead of ghosting her for the past month. Marinette hadn’t hear anything from her best friend, not even a request to help babysit or an order from the bakery.

“Marinette—” Adrien reached out to touch her, but she stepped away.

“I’m going home. Don’t you have to go home too?” Adrien winced and Marinette tried not to feel terrible about it. She turned away. “Bye, Adrien.”

“Marinette, wait—”

She left, Felix following her out of the school. Adrien tried to go with them, but his bodyguard caught him the moment he stepped out of school and took him back to Agreste mansion. Marinette caught Felix smirking as they watched Adrien drive away. A horrible, unrelenting ache opened up in her chest. “Well, I think you handled that quite well—”

“Felix? No offence, but I don’t really want to hear it right now.”

“Marinette?”

“I know you said something about celebrating before, but I’m not feeling good. I… Can you leave me alone? Just for a little bit?” Dark clouds swirled overhead, the threat of rain looming as Marinette casted her eyes to the heaven, then back down at Felix.

His expression was unreadable, but he nodded. “Very well. Would you like me to inform the school you’re sick? So you can stay home longer.”

“That’s really nice of you, Felix. Thank you.”

“Think nothing of it, Marinette.” He smiled, a rare treat on a face used to smirks. “I hope you feel better soon.”

“Yeah… I hope so too.”

Marinette went home, bypassing her parents, to her bedroom filled with reminders of Adrien. His photos were pasted to her walls, his schedule hanging from her ceiling, his presents in her chest. A single tear streaked down her cheek as another shard of heartbreak pierced her heart.

She felt a little hand on her arm. “Marinette?”

A sob caught in her throat as she savagely beat the emotion down. “Tikki—” Her voice the barest whisper—“I don’t want to live like this anymore.”

Because Adrien, the one she loved, was… against her. It was the only way she could describe it. He had looked at her side and looked at Lila’s and chosen to support a liar, but he thought she was the one in the wrong for… what? Fighting back? Having Felix on her side? She absently wondered if he would support her if she abandoned Felix, since he hates Felix so much, and cringed at the thought. Another example to add to the pile. How could she even consider abandoning a friend just to get Adrien to like her? Who does that?

Marinette does, apparently.

“I don’t like the person I am when I’m in love with Adrien,” she confessed, looking down at her kwami. “I don’t like how he becomes the center of my world. I don’t like how I compromise my morals to make him happy.” Because that’s why she tried to follow the high road: to make him happy. “I… I don’t want to love him anymore, Tikki.”

The kwami hugged her. “It’s okay. You don’t have to like anyone you don’t want to. You just need to let him go.”

The ache in her heart tripled. “How?” she gasped, crying more freely.

Tikki spent the rest of the afternoon guiding her. First, a meditation session to calm her down. Next, she and Tikki went through every present she planned to one day give Adrien, carefully unwrapped each one, and decided what to do with them. Marinette didn’t want them around the house—the memories of her intentions would still be there—so they planned to give them to a thrift store that weekend. She deleted her collage background on her computer. The schedule was then scrubbed clean, the sharpie coming off the laminated paper with hand sanitizer, and Marinette was forced to remember each and every thing she had done to get that information. She was almost crying again at the end, this time with shame.

Finally, the photos. She remembered the hours she’d spent pouring over magazines and the internet. Outside of the few group shots he was in, every picture she had of him was heavily photoshopped. She pulled them off the walls, one by one. This one has most of his smile, she thought, and this one didn’t change his face, but he looked so tired…

She didn’t know why she had these photos. It seemed rational at the time, but… a lot of things seemed rational when she was trying to make him like her. So she placed them in a prototype of her diary box and let Tikki hide it.

“Goodbye, Adrien.” The words were final, but seemed necessary. She couldn’t like him anymore, not if she wanted to stay alive.

The next morning, she woke up feeling like she’d been wrung out. For once she was on time, her mind too anxious to allow her to sleep long. She met Felix at the door to school.

“Are you feeling better?” he asked, leading her inside.

She hesitated. “…A bit. But I’ll get better soon. Tikki smiled encouragingly at her from inside her purse. “Did I miss anything?”

“Just another one of Rossi’s temper tantrums.” He rolled his eyes as they walked into the locker room. “Honestly, I have to wonder about her parents if that’s what she considers acceptable behavior. Anyway, I got your notes and—” His voice caught in his throat, cutting off with an inelegant croak as his eyes widened. Marinette followed his gaze and her mouth dropped open.

There was a small crowd surrounding her locker. Written on it in red spray paint was the word “Skank”. Marinette approached it, her mind disassociating and distant from what she was seeing, and opened it. Everything in it was coated in the same paint, ruining the few textbooks and decorations inside. She reached out and touched it. Stone dry.

“Someone get a teacher!” Felix’s furious voice broke her from her trance. He had never sounded angry before. His emerald eyes glinted as he glared at the crowd. “Which one of you did this!?” he demanded. “This is destruction of private property!” She could feel everyone staring at her. Did they think she deserved this? Did they pity her? Did they—

“M. Graham de Vanily, stop shouting.” Mme. Mendeleive was the teacher summoned. “Now, what exactly is going on here—” She stopped, seeing the damage done. Her lips thinned. “Marinette, are you okay?”

“I…” She tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. “I don’t…”

“I think she’s in shock, Mme. Mendeleive,” Felix said.

Mme. Mendeleive nodded, concern clear on her face. “Take her to the nurses office. I’ll figure out what happened here.”

Felix was trying to usher her out of room when something clattered to the ground. A can of red spray paint rolled across the floor and bumped into her foot. Marinette picked it up; it was the same shade as the paint on her locker.

Alya, who at just opened her locker only for the can to fall out, stared at it in dread. “Marinette—” her eyes searched Marinette’s— “Girl, you know I didn’t—”

“Alya…?” Did Alya… did she do it…? Tears flowed. Why would she… And Marinette remembered yesterday, remembered making Alya fail, and gritted her teeth. “Alya, how could you?”

She flinched back, betrayal on her face. “Girl, you know me! I would never—I have never seen that can before in my life!”

And now she was lying to her!? Marinette turned away. “Save it, Alya.” Her voice hitched with a sob. She didn’t want to hear anything Alya had to say. She handed the can to Mme. Mendeleive and ran.


	13. Chapter 13

It was like watching Shakespeare.

Felix fought to keep a wild grin off his face as he watched the paint can drop from Cesaire’s locker. The look of horror on her face, the way the entire school turned against her in an instant, the betrayal in Marinette’s eyes… It was brilliant.

It was completely worth the effort of breaking into the school the night prior and defacing Marinette’s locker.

He was sure she’d forgive him once he told her. Really, it was for her own betterment. But, as Marinette’s eyes filled with tears and she sped off, a twinge of doubt spawned in his chest. She… was it really that big of a deal? There had been nothing important inside her locker, he had checked, and he would replace everything. Or was she embarrassed? She shouldn’t be; no one with an actual brain believed that Marinette was a skank or any other derogatory word.

“Mlle. Cesaire!” And it appeared that the disloyal girl was about to be punished. All this effort, and Marinette wasn’t even there to witness it.

And… she had been crying. He must have done something seriously wrong if it made her cry.

Felix ran after her.

She was good at hiding. She must be, if she had the reputation of never being found during akuma attacks. The only reason Felix found her so quickly was that he heard the slightest murmur of her voice coming from the closet under the main stairs.

He knocked on the door and her voice stopped. “Marinette? Are you alright?” What a stupid question, she had been crying.

The door cracked. “F-Felix…?” She sniffled. “What are you…?”

“You were in distress.” Distress he caused and he wanted to slap himself for not expecting this reaction. He passed a handkerchief through the crack in the door, receiving a small ‘thanks’ in return. “Do you… wish to talk about it?”

“It’s…” A shaky breath. “Does she really hate me so much?”

… _What?_

She continued. “We’ve been friends for almost a year now, but Alya believed Lila so quickly. And when I was sent to the back of the class, she didn’t bother to check if I was okay or go with me so I wouldn’t be alone… She’d rather sit next to her boyfriend. And then… Lila started telling everyone that I was bullying her. She sent screenshots to a group chat or something, I don’t know; I don’t even have her number! But Alya… she doesn’t even consider the possibility that I told her the truth, that Lila really is a liar. And now… she hates me enough to deface my property? I just don’t understand…”

Felix swallowed. He hadn’t… _understood_ Marinette and Cesaire’s prior relationship. He had interpreted it a common bully vs victim relationship, but if they had been friends before, if it had been Rossi who drove them apart…

He owed them both an apology.

Or at least, he did unless he could redirect the blame. And fortunately, he had a prime target.

Still, comforting Marinette was his priority at the moment. “I sincerely doubt Cesaire actually hates you. More that… she is selfish.”

A sniffle. “Selfish?”

“Indeed. It is selfishness that prevents her from researching Rossi’s claims, since she wants the prestige of being a famous reporter with exclusive interviews… or at least, that’s what I assume. I can’t imagine any other reason for why she would have so much unrelated content on her Ladybug-focused blog.”

“You read her blog?”

“I’ve done my research.”

“And… her posts about Lila?”

“Clear falsehood.” He opened the door to Marinette’s cupboard and looked her in the eye. “If Cesaire is retaliating because of yesterday’s performance, then she is a fool. She and Rossi stole our assignment and were punished because of it, nothing more, nothing less. However, we should rethink the conclusion that Cesaire was the culprit. After all, she was not the only one humiliated yesterday.”

Marinette rubbed her eyes. “You mean… you think Lila did it?”

“It’s a possibility.” No, it wasn’t and Felix needed to go to the nurse, because never before had a lie felt so painful to keep up. The lie was necessary for his split-second plan to work so he could stay in Marinette’s good graces. It would be remiss to lose his only ally over something so petty. ~~He ignored the well of self-hatred pooling in him. He’d messed up, he’d messed up so bad~~ —“Perhaps you should talk with her first?”

It pained him to try and reignite a friendship. He had started this day with the joy of knowing one of his enemies would suffer unjustly at the hands of the administration. Now he would have to pretend to _like_ the reporter girl once his plan worked.

“I think—” Marinette sniffled and stood, looking as dignified as stepping out of a closet after crying could make her. “I think I need to go talk to her—”

The school shook with the strength of an explosion and Felix fell into Marinette. He looked around frantically. “What!? Is it an akuma?”

Her eyes went wide. “Alya.”

His gaze shot to her. Cesaire? Cesaire was the akuma? Before Felix could react or even do anything, Marinette raced off.

_Towards the explosion._

“ _Marinette!!”_


End file.
